The Madness of Mary Todd Lincoln

I really liked your blog – thanks for sending!! I see a theme there. My experience with Austin State Hospital is that when I first started working at Travis State School in 1967, they only had men there – they called them “boys”. Some had been there for years as they had been admitted to ASH long before because they were a little “weird” and then became too institutionalized to be let out. They did not have IQs consistent with mental retardation. Some were later placed in group homes. I don’t know if you’ve read Mary, Mrs. A Lincoln, but it is her account of being committed to a lunatic asylum by her son, Robert. Someone very recently found letters she had written to her attorneys from the asylum. I think they were going to be a book, too.

Mary Lincoln (1818-1882)

When I was young, I remember my mother talking about Mary Todd Lincoln, wife of Abraham Lincoln, and her inappropriate and extravagant spending sprees during the depth of the Civil War. Above all I remember Mom mentioning that Mary had a collection of about 300 pairs of gloves. Thinking about it now, it reminds me of Imelda Marcos, wife of the president of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos, and her closet rack of 2700 pairs of shoes.

Mary Todd and Abraham Lincoln came together as husband and wife from two very different worlds. Mary was pampered and rich; Abraham was tested and wise. Both were prone to depression but it was Mary, with her fragile mind, perhaps schizophrenic or bipolar, who finally cratered under the constant barrage of grief and loss that became her sad lot in life. Three of her sons died while her husband was president during a bloody and acrimonious civil war. The hate mail sent to her husband was unbelievable. Then her beloved Abraham, her anchor, was assassinated. It was more than Mary could bear. She descended into madness.

She began to wander hotel corridors in her nightgown, was certain someone was trying to poison her, complained that an Indian spirit was removing wires from her eyes, and continued her frantic spending, purchasing yard after yard of elegant drapery when she had no windows in which to hang it. (PBS American Experience: “The Time of the Lincolns”)

The doctors treated her with laudanum which gave her hallucinations, eye spasms, and headaches. She began to behave bizarrely, creating a public scandal. Her only surviving son Robert, a practicing attorney, arranged an insanity trial and had her committed to the asylum Bellevue Place just outside Chicago. Although Mary was only hospitalized for three months, she never forgave Robert for the humiliation and deprivation.

A recently published book, The Madness of Mary Lincoln by Jason Emerson, awarded “Book of the Year” by the Illinois State Historical Society in 2007, examines Mary’s mental illness. The book is based on a rare find – a trunk of letters found in the attic of Robert Lincoln’s lawyer. They contain the lost letters written by Mary during her stay in the asylum. The book sheds light on the ongoing mystery of Mary’s mental illness, its nature, roots, and progression, and suggests that Abraham Lincoln had some understanding of it and provided stability.

12 Responses

Hi Lisa- Thank you for your nice comment on my blog.
Your blog is fascinating and I will definitely have to check this book out about Mary Lincoln.
I have always been fascinated with Zelda Fitzgerald, Scott’s wife. My mother had a biography about her, Zelda, that described her descent into mental illness and commitment to an insane asylum that I read as a teenager.
I see that you have posted about Annie Oakley and wondered if you had any answers to my questions about Annie Oakley and her connection to Michigan that I posted in my blog under Annie Oakley Memorial Trail?
Do you critique historical fiction for other writers?
Jennifer Porter

Hi, Jennifer, I am interested in reading more about Zelda. It’s interesting you would mention her. I had just jotted down a note to myself two nights ago to look into her incarceration. I will look at your blog and read about Annie and get an answer back to you.
I do not critique historical fiction for other writers. I don’t believe in critiques! I think it’s more harmful than helpful. When you write something, it is very unique. A critiquer doesn’t have the special point of view to step into the writer’s shoes and make judgments. I find that keeping my writing private saves my work! I don’t show my writing to anyone but my editor (that includes husbands and mothers) until it is published.
Now blogs are different….
So trust your writing. Go over it yourself. Hear it in your head. Check your authenticity of time and place and voice.
All my best,
Lisa

Hey Lisa,
Mary’s mental illness is such an intriguing topic. I loved reading your blog entry about her (also was so intrigued by your post about Rosemary Kennedy). I did want to tell you that only Willie Lincoln died while Abraham Lincoln was president. Here is a very heartbreaking story that I posted about his death:http://quacklady.wordpress.com/2008/04/23/found-a-grave/

Eddie Lincoln died after Lincoln’s term in congress (1850). Tad Lincoln died of tuberculosis in 1871, years after Lincoln’s assassination. He had become Mary’s companion and traveled to Europe with her to escape Mary’s demons in the US. Here’s a little post about Tad:http://quacklady.wordpress.com/2008/02/25/did-you-know/
Robert Lincoln was the only son who lived to adulthood. He ironically was witness to 2 other presidential assassinations. Thanks again for your interesting post! I can’t wait to read more about Mary’s mental health.

May I add you to my blogroll, QuackLady?
I will read your site entries. I am reading now about Mary Todd Lincoln and the “Old Clothes Scandal.” More later!
Thanks for visiting. Please keep coming back.
Lisa

Hi Lisa- I will really think about what you have said about critiquing. I have found a critique helpful but recently I have found that I don’t return to the work if someone really hacks at it. All the experts always say “join a critique group” but maybe you are right.
Jennifer

I sent you an email reiterating my philosophical rationale. Keep on writing and shut out all voices but your own. It’s much like parenting. You can read books on the subject but it comes down to instinct.
Lisa

Thanks for your email, Lisa. I went back to an abandoned story (because of a critique) and with new energy, am revising it for publication because of your words of encouragement to listen to my own vision and voice.
Your blog is so interesting.
Jennifer

Jennifer, I am so glad. Right now, the publishing market is so confused with itself. The old model is terribly broken. I’d hang on to precious manuscripts and not show them to anyone in the business until the climate improves. Agents are only buying mss. with a guarantee of umpteen thousand sales. But don’t let that bother you. Keep writing and saving your work. The day will come back when agents and editors will be hungry, not gorged, on good stories.

I’m doing a psychology paper on psychological disorders, and i found Mary Todd. The Lincoln’s are a hot topic lately with the new movies out. Are there anymore websites or information thats legit, i could write 2 pages on about her? Interesting stuff! please let me know, my email is l_shock06@yahoo.com Thank You!or facebook me!

With the taking of laudanum who really knows. I cannot believe that she was that bad off. With that drug she could have easily gone over the edge. I believe her only surviving son could have been a little greedy and angry also to what happened to his family. I really think that not all the facts are in the book and we all will truly not know what happened. History is what we make it at the time. Remember Sybil with Dr. Wilbur?